KMT lawmaker Johnny Chiang visits former Australian prime minister

Taipei, March 10 (CNA) Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Monday visited former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, according to Taiwan's Legislative Yuan.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Legislature said Turnbull welcomed Chiang and expressed support for Chiang's proposed "3D" principles of deterrence, dialogue and democracy for maintaining regional peace and stability.

Turnbull agreed that maintaining communication can help reduce misunderstandings and create opportunities to ease tensions, the statement said.

Chiang said regional stability and economic security are the main challenges facing countries amid rapid global changes and hoped that Taiwan and Australia could develop a more comprehensive partnership as bilateral trade continues to grow.

Taiwan's leading role in the global semiconductor supply chain and Australia's abundant mineral and agricultural resources are highly complementary, he said.

Chiang also expressed the hope that Turnbull could use his influence to support Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Taiwan's participation would bring positive effects to the trade bloc because of the complementary nature of Taiwanese and Australian industries, he added.

Later the same day, Chiang visited the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, the statement said.

According to the Legislature, Chiang departed for Sydney on Saturday evening with a delegation of lawmakers to attend events with the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce and engage in parliamentary diplomacy.

It said he would be in Australia for two and a half days but did not specify when he would return to Taiwan.